Uber is taking a significant step toward expanding its autonomous offerings by partnering with Avride, a cutting-edge autonomous technology startup. This collaboration aims to enhance Uber’s delivery and ride-hailing services by giving customers the choice to use either robots or self-driving vehicles when ordering food through Uber Eats or booking rides.
On Thursday, Uber Technologies unveiled its new partnership with Avride, marking yet another move to broaden its network of self-driving technology providers. In recent weeks, Uber has formed alliances with notable companies in the autonomous driving space, including Waymo, Alphabet’s robotaxi unit, General Motors’ Cruise, and Chinese firm WeRide.
Starting in the coming weeks, Uber Eats will begin using Avride’s sidewalk delivery robots in Austin, Texas. The service will then expand to other cities such as Dallas, Texas, and Jersey City, New Jersey, later this year. This follows Uber’s similar collaboration with Serve Robotics in Los Angeles, which also uses robots for food deliveries.
Uber and Avride are also working toward the rollout of robotaxi services, set to launch in Dallas next year. Customers using the Uber Eats or ride-hailing apps will soon have the option to select between an Avride delivery robot or an autonomous vehicle for completing their order.
Avride, founded in 2017 and based in Austin, has already successfully completed 200,000 deliveries across five countries. Previously a part of the Russian tech company Yandex, Avride became an independent entity following a corporate restructuring earlier this year. Dmitry Polishchuk, CEO of Avride, expressed optimism about the company’s future, saying, “Our goal is to scale Avride’s robot fleet within Uber Eats to hundreds of units by 2025, with robotaxi services launching shortly after.”
This partnership underscores Uber’s ongoing commitment to integrating autonomous technology into its platform, revolutionizing both food delivery and transportation by offering more innovative and efficient solutions for its users.